“No matter how much tax is imposed on us, keeping in view the nature of the work, printing industry cannot be included in the service category,” Kamal Chopra, president, AIFMP, said.

Meanwhile, the printers’ body categorically termed the campaigns to go paperless as ill-conceived. AIFMP maintained that digitalisation itself is a source of pollution, explaining that eGarbage is dangerous to the fragile ecology, whereas paper was a biodegradable.

Tushar Dhote chairman, PAMEX, said paper dissolved in the environment on its own without any negative impact. The world is battling with the menace of disposing of eWaste, he said, adding that printing would survive the digital onslaught.

He said paper mill owners are aware of the loss of trees for raw material of their industries. So they are equally keen on planting more trees as they are aware that their business would not be possible without trees.

Chopra said while printing is a rapidly growing industry across the world, in India, it is the second most employable industry in the world after China. He said the country’s printing industry clocked annual growth between 15 and 17% last year and commercial printing grew by nearly 4%.